Chapter 16

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Translator: MadScientist

Chapter: 16

Chapter Title: Eunha Really Likes Humans?

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"Wha... admin mode?"

I voiced my confusion while staring at the system window floating before my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠eyes, but as expected, it offered no explanation whatsoever.

It merely displayed a single line: [Administrator privileges authentication required.]

'Privileges authentication? I'm the owner... do I have to authenticate again?'

But how was I supposed to do that? I stared blankly at the system window for a moment before speaking up.

"I-I'm Eunha. The owner of Floor 1."

"Pfft."

...

It didn't seem to recognize voices or even me as a person.

That meant there had to be something specific required, but I hadn't received any item related to that when I cleared the boss room.

However, there was one item I'd never used before, even if it didn't seem directly related to admin privileges.

Rustle, rustle.

I pulled a glass shard-like fragment from my shorts pocket and held it out.

This was that "Impure something-or-other," right?

Ah, my guess was right. The system window flickered from blue to red for a moment and began to change.

Soon, new text appeared above the holographic window.

"Huh?"

I sucked in a breath as I gazed at the admin window.

I had a rough idea of what it was, but I had no clue how to use it.

'By the way, does "Remaining Entities: 0" mean it's because I became the Floor 1 owner? Then the goblins appearing in the city...'

It might really have been my fault.

My heart sank for a moment, but then the landlord sister suddenly grabbed my shoulders.

"Eunha."

"Y-Yes...?"

"I think you should look at it the other way around."

"Wh-What do you mean?"

The landlord sister was clearly looking at the same system window as me.

She stroked her chin thoughtfully for a moment before shrugging.

"Think about it, Eunha. What happened when you wiped out the goblins in the tower?"

When I wiped out the goblins? I recalled the time I'd come to Floor 1 with Ji-won sister.

Blackie had zapped them away in a flash, and the goblins turned into particles of light without leaving corpses behind.

"And after they vanished?"

"More goblins appeared."

Hearing my answer, the landlord sister nodded and patted my head.

Her cool hand soothed the heat that had just built up in my head.

"Think about it, Eunha. Everyone who awakens visits Floor 1 of the tower, so countless awakeners must have come through."

"Y-Yeah."

"Then the number of goblins those countless awakeners killed must exceed 1,480, right?"

I pursed my lips.

I hadn't seen it myself, so I couldn't say for sure if other awakeners had killed over 1,480 goblins.

But Blackie alone had obliterated over a hundred, and Woo Jin-seong must have killed even more. Adding everyone else, it probably surpassed 1,480.

"Y-Yeah, probably."

"Exactly. And yet goblins kept respawning. Do you know what that means?"

"Hmm..."

Huh? What did it mean? I had no idea.

"It means this floor was constantly generating goblins."

"Generating... goblins?"

"Probably, yes. That 1,480 figure likely represents the maximum number of goblins this floor can accommodate."

The landlord sister tapped the holographic window in the air with her long, elegant finger.

"But when you became the owner, the floor stopped generating goblins. Now that it has an owner, the authority transferred to you."

"Wha?"

"So in that sense, the goblins in the city aren't your fault."

I blinked. I didn't fully understand everything she said, but I got the gist.

"Th-Then I won't get in trouble, right?"

As I looked up at her, the landlord sister nodded as if it were obvious.

"Of course not. If anything, people should be grateful to you."

"Wh-Why?"

"Awakeners have one main goal for climbing the tower, right? You know it."

"Of course! I researched tons of info to prepare after awakening."

Awakeners climb the tower to make money, sure, but fundamentally, it's to conquer floors and advance.

Advancing reveals the tower's secrets and ultimately frees humanity from monster threats... or so it was said.

The Awakener Association had announced it before.

"Right. Unraveling the tower's mysteries and liberation from monster threats. That's their biggest goal."

The landlord sister swallowed slightly before continuing.

"In that light, you've done something no one else has. You became the owner of Floor 1 and stopped monsters from spawning there."

"M-Me...?"

Hearing her, it did kind of make sense.

Because I became the owner, no more monsters on Floor 1. Even Woo Jin-seong hadn't achieved that.

Just thinking about it made me stand a little taller.

"Now, imagine if you became the owner of Floor 2. Or even Floor 15...?"

I closed my eyes and pictured it at her words.

What if I owned not just Floor 1, but Floor 2 and Floor 15 too?

Would the monsters on Floor 2 and 15 vanish like the goblins on Floor 1?

If so—

"That would be fully conquering the tower."

I couldn't close my mouth. My imagination spiraled further.

If I could truly conquer the tower like she said, I might become super famous.

Like Woo Jin-seong, appearing on TV, my name scrolling across news tickers.

The idiots in the Awakener Aspirant Gallery would apologize for not believing me, mass-upvote my posts, and pin them as featured articles.

"Gasp...!"

Lost in wild fantasies, saliva pooled in my mouth, and I swallowed it with a gulp.

"E-Eunha?"

"Heh, hehe. Ah, y-yes!"

"What's wrong?"

"Oh? If I fully conquer the tower, I tell people to mass-upvote me and..."

"Mass-upvote?"

"Ah, nothing!"

I waved my hands frantically to brush it off.

Right, the landlord sister wasn't into the gallery like Ji-won sister. Talking like this in front of a popular person made my face heat up.

Better change the subject quick.

"Right! Shall we try messing with this?"

I carefully read the menus floating in the hologram again.

- Terrain and Environment Settings

- Resource Distribution Settings

- Resident Entity Settings

- Civilization Settings

I alternated between the four menus, lost in thought. What was I supposed to do with these?

Glancing at the landlord sister, she tilted her head questioningly.

"Huh? Why?"

"Sister, you said me becoming Floor 1 owner helps people, right?"

"I did."

"Then could I use these admin privileges to help people even more?"

My eyes sparkled as I asked, and she widened her eyes in slight surprise before sighing softly.

"Eunha really likes humans, huh?"

"Huh? I-I'm not sure. But since I'm doing this, I'd like others to benefit too..."

"There's a way."

Her pale, elegant finger pointed into the air—at "[Resource Distribution Settings]."

"Resource distribution?"

"Yes. Eunha, do you know why awakeners climb the tower to make money?"

"Uh, not really."

"Simple. The tower has new resources unavailable on Earth."

New resources. My ears perked up at the word. Come to think of it, Ji-won sister had said something similar.

The mana storage stone from the Goblin King's corpse...? It was super helpful to humanity and sold for a fortune.

"The prime example is mana storage stones. They're far more efficient than any Earth energy source, so even a tiny piece fetches an enormous price."

"I think I've heard that."

"This 'resource distribution' probably refers to those. Want to tap it?"

The landlord sister wrapped her hand around my right hand's back and guided it to the menu item.

As my fingertip pressed the text, the system window changed.

"Whoa."

As my mouth hung open, the landlord sister peered over my shoulder at the window and murmured softly.

"Right now, the floor's resources are deactivated, so they're dormant underground."

"Then activating this will make mana storage stones like the ones listed pop up everywhere?"

"Probably. That would help humans, just like you wanted."

Then, she suddenly lowered her voice and whispered.

"But on the flip side, you could monopolize these resources and make a fortune."

"Huh?"

"Want to?"

I blinked, not understanding why she'd suggest that.

"Why? Sharing with everyone is better."

"Uh, yeah...?"

"If I keep it all, it's just for one person, but sharing makes it for many."

"Eunha, resources are finite. Monopolizing or sharing doesn't change the total amount."

"Huh? Oh, right."

She stared at me silently, as if observing a fascinating new species for the first time.

"...Now I get why he calls you naive—no, great. Fine. Let's do it your way."

She gently brushed my hair back with a tender touch.

"Shall we wastefully divide your share among many, then?"

"Huh? Ah, yes!"

I nodded vigorously and reached for the "[Deactivated]" text floating in the air.

Ding!

The moment I hit YES.

Rumble rumble rumble...!

The entire Forest of Beginnings shook like a massive earthquake.

I stumbled, losing my balance, but thankfully, the landlord sister steadied me from behind, saving me from falling on my butt.

"D-Did I press something wrong?!"

"Don't panic. Look ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠outside calmly, Eunha."

Calmed by her steady voice, I turned and peered beyond the boss room door.

The next instant, I yelped in shock.

Unbelievable changes were sweeping across the dreary Forest of Beginnings we'd passed through before entering the citadel.

Crack, craaaack!

The forest underbrush split open, radiant light spilling from the fissures.

Soon, transparent, sparkling ores began sprouting up through the gaps.

They were definitely the low-grade mana storage stones Ji-won sister had gotten from the Goblin King.

"W-Wow..."

Low-grade mana storage stones were emerging all over Floor 1 of the tower.